When Sister Nhung Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam, she did so with a mission. A member of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Tam Hiep, Sister Nhung was sent by her religious community to continue her education abroad.
“My superior wanted me to come here to study, and after that, I can come back and serve my community and country better.” She added, “It’s part of my mission,” she said.
Sister Nhung will graduate from Georgian Court University with a Bachelor of Arts in Health Profession Studies, a degree she hopes will help her care more deeply for those most in need, especially the elderly.
“I love when I talk with them. They share their stories and life lessons, and I learn from them,” she expressed. “Some people, when they are older, feel lonely and just want to share their stories. I want to be there to listen, to make them feel heard, and appreciated.”
That desire to listen is more than a career interest. It is a calling. “I think that is a mission God wants me to do in the world,” she voiced. “I had a feeling I was called to serve the people. Especially to work with the elderly.”
Sister Nhung grew up in Vietnam as one of nine children in a close-knit family. She entered religious life at the age of 18. Her parents, who admired the sisters in their community, asked her as a child if she wanted to become one herself. “I said yes, and after finishing high school, I told my mum that I was going to enter the community and my family was so happy!”
Today, the Dominican Sisters of Tam Hiep’s motherhouse is home to nearly 500 sisters, and the community recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.
While in Vietnam, Sister Nhung helped care for retired sisters in her community, providing spiritual support and tutoring. Her studies in the United States have given her the opportunity to explore health care more formally, including volunteering at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where she participated in patient satisfaction and comfort rounds.
Her role was simple, but meaningful: visit patients, ask how they were feeling, learn about their hospital experience, and offer companionship. “If they wanted to talk, I spoke with them and shared my story,” she explained. “They listened to me, and I listened to them. We connected with each other.”
That connection, especially with older patients, affirmed her desire to continue serving in health care. Her long-term dream is to study nursing, though she expressed that her future will depend on scholarships and support.
At Georgian Court, Sister Nhung found a campus very welcoming and enabled her to thrive. “The (Mercy Core) values and spirit of respect, integrity, justice, compassion, and service are close to my mission and to my vocation. They created an environment for me to live and learn.” She added, “When I met people — students, faculty, staff — especially my advisor, they helped me a lot. The professors were patient with me and encouraged me to do my best.”
Her advisor, Dr. Sachiko Komagata, Program Director and Associate Professor of Integrative Health, always inspired her with kindness and optimism.
“Any time I see her, I get more energy,” she stated. “I feel her kindness spread to me, and I want to spread that kindness to everyone around me. She is a good teacher and a good advisor.”
Since English is not her first language, Sister Nhung said that encouragement made a difference. She also found spiritual strength through campus prayer, worship opportunities, and Communion services led by Mission and Ministry, and through the campus’s physical beauty.
“When I have time, I walk around and feel the peace inside campus,” she said. “It makes me feel close to nature and connects me to God.”
Sister Nhung also took part in various campus service activities, including making no-sew scarves for people experiencing homelessness, creating pillows for local veterans, participating in the GCU breast cancer awareness color run, coloring the campus mural, joining the International Day of Non-Violence, making sandwiches for St. Peter’s Free Lunch Program, and helping restock feminine hygiene products for students on campus.
Those experiences reflected Georgian Court’s Mercy core values that have supported her throughout her time at the university and are closely aligned with her mission and vocation.
As she prepares for Commencement day, she looks ahead with gratitude and hope. “I want to thank Georgian Court University because they made it possible for me to get to this day,” she conveyed. “I am also deeply grateful to Assumption College for Sisters, where my academic journey began and which supported my transfer to GCU. And, I want to thank my community and my family, even though they are not next to me, their love and their care are always along with me.”
After Commencement, Sister Nhung plans to participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows international students to gain work experience related to their major. She expects to move to Texas, where her congregation has a community, and hopes to find work in a health care setting.
Whether her next step leads to nursing school, professional health care experience, or a return to Vietnam, she plans to carry what she has learned at Georgian Court into her ministry.
For Sister Nhung, graduating is another step in a life shaped by faith, service, and the desire to help others feel seen, heard, and loved.
